1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pseudo 3D image generation device, an image encoding device, an image encoding method, an image transmission method, an image decoding device, and an image decoding method for generating a pseudo 3D image from a non-3D image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many 3D display systems have been introduced that generate a pseudo 3D image from a two-dimensional still image or moving image (hereinafter called a non-3D image) to which depth information is given neither explicitly nor, as for a stereo image, implicitly.
The applicant of the present invention disclosed a pseudo 3D image generation device and a pseudo 3D image generation method for generating a pseudo 3D image from a non-3D image in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-151534. The pseudo 3D image generation device and generation method, described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-151534, provide multiple images having a depth effect (hereinafter called basic depth models), calculate the high-brightness components of the brightness signals on one screen of a non-3D image and, based on the calculated value, automatically calculate the composite percentages of the multiple basic depth models. Based on the calculated composite percentages, the disclosed device and method estimate depth data for achieving the depth effect of a non-3D image and produce a pseudo 3D image using the non-3D image and the estimated depth data.
The problem with the pseudo 3D image generation device and the pseudo 3D image generation method described above is that the composite percentages of multiple basic depth models is calculated for all non-3D images automatically by the same predetermined method. So, depending upon the scene of a non-3D image (hereinafter called a scene) that is displayed one screen at a time, the disclosed device and method do not produce appropriate depth information sometimes with the result that an unnatural pseudo 3D image is generated. Meanwhile, it is actually difficult for the user to adjust the algorithm or the parameters of a pseudo 3D image for each non-3D image scene. Therefore, to generate a pseudo 3D image that is natural and closer to the actual image, it is desirable that a producer adjusts parameters.